


I Need You To Get Better

by HoneyxMonkey



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:36:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29812002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyxMonkey/pseuds/HoneyxMonkey
Summary: Les comes to Jack Kelly in near tears one day, begging for his help. Davey is sick and their parents are nowhere to be found.
Relationships: David Jacobs & Les Jacobs, David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Les Jacobs & Jack Kelly
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	I Need You To Get Better

**Author's Note:**

> I think it's about time I wrote/finished this Javid sickfic XD

Les once again looked helplessly at the clock on the wall. It ticked and ticked, counting the seconds, hours, and days it had been since Ma and Pa had left to find extra work. He gently laid a wet wash rag over Davey’s forehead, trying to ignore the way his brother’s brows furrowed with pain. Even in his sleep he couldn’t get any rest. Les pursed his lips and looked at the clock again. Four days had come and gone, and their parents still weren’t home. Davey wasn’t getting any better, in fact he was getting  _ worse.  _ He needed to find some help.

He needed to find Jack Kelly.

___________

Les raced through the streets of Manhattan. It had taken a bit of courage to leave Davey’s side, to leave him alone. But Les couldn’t help him. Not on his own.

He pushed through the crowd of people making their morning commute, getting a lot of grumbles and stares but he hardly found it in himself to care. 

“Jack!” He called as he ran towards the Distribution Center, not even pausing to greet the other boys. “Jack?!” He ran right into the person he was looking for.  _ Literally. _

“Woah!” Jack caught Les by the shoulders before the ten year old could fall on the ground. “Where’s the fire, Les?”

Les tugged on his arm. “Jack you have to come with me! Now!”

Jack shared a look with Race before bending down and gripping Les by the shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

“Davey is-” his voice caught in his throat as his eyes welled with tears, the past few days of stress and worry catching up with him. Les quickly swallowed his panic and pushed down his tears. He didn’t want to cry in front of the boys. “David is real sick, Jack. And-and our Ma and Pa aren’t home and I don’t know what to do.”

Les saw Jack’s eyes go wide with what he assumed was panic. “Okay… okay.” He took in a deep breath. “I’ll go with you. But Les,” Jack made the young boy look at him. “You need to calm down. You won’t do nobody no good panicking so much.”

Les nodded and tried to quell his nerves with a few deep breaths as Jack took his hand and they started running back through the streets together. They made it back to the Jacobs’ apartment, Jack pushing the door open for them to be greeted with deep, painful sounding coughs. Les’ grip on the older newsie’s hand tightened and Jack gave it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

Slowly Jack let go, readying himself as he slowly walked down the hall. He reached Davey and Les’ shared room, heart breaking at the sight before him. Davey lay in his bed, burrowed under multiple blankets, shivering. Jack gingerly pressed the back of his hand to his forehead and was alarmed by how warm he was. Davey was practically burning up.

Jack took in a deep breath, running a hand through Davey’s sweat-soaked curls. His chest tightened when Davey’s brow furrowed and he whined slightly in pain. For a moment he shifted like he might wake before drifting back into a restless slumber. Jack bit his lip to try and hold back tears. He remembered his own father in this sort of restless, sick sleep. It was one he hadn’t woken from. Jack took a deep breath, steeling himself, determination coursing through his veins. He wouldn’t let Davey suffer the same fate.

____________

Three days. Three excruciating days. Jack didn’t know if Davey would make it or not. He was just… so sick. Last night had been the final straw. His fever had spiked and Jack knew he wouldn’t recover if they didn’t get some medicine and fast.

He sat next to his boyfriend’s bed, holding tight to his hand, worry and fear coursing through him. Jack ran his thumb over Davey’s palm absentmindedly, knowing what he had to do, but not knowing if he could do it. Davey wouldn’t want him to do it, wouldn’t want him to risk it, but Jack couldn’t just sit here and watch the love of his life wither away into nothing.

With a final sigh of resignation, Jack kissed Davey’s too warm forehead and stood up, making his way into the living room where Les was sitting on the couch. 

“Les I need to go get something.” He watched the boy spring up from the couch, clear anxiety on his face. “I’ll be back in a jiff.”

“Promise?”

Jack paused, halfway out the door. The fear and hesitation in Les’ voice made his heart break all over again. He turned and gave Les a smile. “I promise.”

He walked out the door and rushed through the streets, coming quickly to the place he wanted to be. With anxiety settling in his gut for what he was about to do, Jack pushed open the door and stepped into the pharmacy. The bell above him rung, alerting the store owner to his presence.

Louie smiled at the newsie, quite used to seeing him around when Jack would come by to get bandages and such for the other boys.

“Jack Kelly, haven’t seen you around in a while.” He leaned on the counter with a smile. “So what can I do for you today?”

“Um…” Jack tried to calm himself but the anxiety settled further in his gut. “One of the boys is sick. I was… I was wonderin’ if you could help me out.”

Louie nodded and brought out an assortment of medicines. “Any particular symptoms?”

Jack swallowed thickly, mind going back to the image of Davey’s pale face. “I- I’m not a doctor so I don’t really know, but…” he looked at Louie, putting on his best pleading face. “He’s been sick for a while, when I got to him he couldn’t even open his eyes.”

Louie’s face contorted with confusion before it dawned on him. “Is it Davey then?”

Jack nodded. “I don’t know what else to do.”

“Why haven’t his parents come by?”

“They’s been gone for a while. Les said they went to find extra work but it’s been a week…” Jack sighed. “Please, I just-” he pursed his lips.  _ “Please.” _

Louie nodded slowly and brought out a bottle. “This would help him feel better.” He held it back as Jack was reaching for it. “Now I can’t just give this to you for free, Jack.”

Jack’s heart sunk and he mentally prepared himself for what was going to come next. “Louie-”

“I’m sorry Jack, but I can’t.” Louie sighed, placing the bottle on the counter. “You know how it is. If it were food that would be different, but it isn’t so I can’t.” He looked at the teen sympathetically. “I’m sorry. I can hold it for you until you can get the money, but until then…”

Jack nodded, pretending to look like he was going to leave. “Thanks anyway Louie.”

Louie nodded and smiled. He was about to put the bottle away when a crash sounded in the back of the store. He immediately turned, yelling at his apprentice as he went to the back to see what had happened.

Jack internally cheered for his good luck, quickly snatching the bottle off the counter and speed-walking out of the building. He was half-way down the street, trying to act casual when he heard a police whistle a few feet behind him and then a gruff voice yell,  _ “Hey!” _

He started sprinting, hearing the cop behind him give chase. Soon he was dashing through the alleys of New York City, doing his best to shake off the cop. Jack took sharp turns and back-alleys, climbing up onto a fire escape of a building and jumping to the roof of the next one to finally lose him. Once safe, he collapsed onto his back, breathing hard. Jack closed his eyes, draping an arm over his face as he attempted to catch his breath. He couldn’t believe he’d just stolen from Louie Webb.

After a few minutes he got up and made his way back to the Jacobs’ apartment. He pushed open the door to find that Les was no longer on the couch. Instead he was sitting by Davey’s bed, once again trying to get his fever down.

“I got it.” Jack said, entering the room. “I got some medicine.” 

Les looked up at him in shock. “Where’d you get it?”

Jack ignored him, instead going into the kitchen to get some water so Davey wouldn’t be drinking  _ just  _ the medicine.

Les followed him. “Jack, where’d you get that?” He asked again, a much more motherly tone to his voice.

Jack sighed.  _ This  _ was why you didn’t leave kids with Davey Jacobs for more than ten minutes. They started to pick up his mothering. “I got it from Louie’s store, alright?”

A beat of silence.

“How did you  _ pay  _ for it?”

Jack sighed again, bracing himself against the kitchen counter. Les waited, arms crossed, sporting a very Davey-like expression. When Jack didn’t say anything, Les sighed, an almost irritated growl coming from the kid’s throat. 

“Jack, Davey would have yelled at you for doing that.”

Jack gripped the counter, on the verge of tears.  _ “I couldn’t just sit there and watch him die, Les!” _

Les gasped and Jack immediately realized he messed up.

“Davey is going to die?” He asked in such an impossibly small voice.

_ “No.”  _ Jack turned, gripping Les by the shoulders, trying to remedy his outburst.  _ “No.  _ Of- of  _ course  _ he isn’t, Les. I won’t let him. He’s going to be just fine.  _ I promise.” _

_________

It took another day for the medicine to kick in. Jack felt relief washing over him when the color returned to Davey’s face and his fever broke. He and Les spent the rest of the day sitting in the room, waiting for Davey to wake up.

_________

Davey groggily blinked his eyes open, first noticing the dim lighting of the room, and then the open window that allowed a soft breeze to flow. He turned his head to the side to see Jack curled up in a chair next to him, watching the window.

“Jack?” He tried speaking but his voice was hoarse and rough from disuse.

Fortunately though, the newsie heard him and turned to look at him, a grin spreading on his face.

“Davey!” He quickly reached out a hand to grasp his, worry now etching onto his face. “Are you okay? How do you feel?”

Davey simply smiled at him, squeezing his hand weakly. “Like crap.”

Jack laughed, cupping his cheek. He was about to say something else when Davey felt a weight on the bed and then Les was cuddled into his side. His little brother mumbled some things he couldn’t make out, so Davey just gently pat his back.

“Care to tell me what happened?” Davey asked his boyfriend gently and Jack looked at him, confused.

“You mean you don’t remember?”

Davey shook his head. “Just bits and pieces really. I know that I got sick and then… not much else.” He suddenly looked alarmed. “Jack where are my parents?”

Jack averted his gaze. Finally he sighed and looked back at Davey. “They’s been gone for almost a week. Les said they went to go find extra work. I’s got here only three days ago, Davey.” His voice was gentle as Davey sucked in a breath, trying to process this.

“You mean they left Les in the house, by himself, for four days?”

Both Jack and Les looked at eachother. Davey sounded angry, which scared Les a little. Davey never got angry at their parents.

“Dave?” Jack said again, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Davey, love, look at me. I know you’re mad, I am too. But just try to calm down, please?”

Davey sighed and closed his eyes, trying to calm his anger. He didn’t understand why his parents would just leave like that. “Okay.” He nodded, opening his eyes and looking at Jack. “Okay.”

Jack smiled and cupped his cheek, Davey leaning into his gentle touch. The older gently rubbed his thumb along Davey’s cheekbone, leaning down and giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

“Get some rest, Mouth.” He said, standing up. “I’ll come check on ya in a bit.”

Davey rolled his eyes at the nickname but smiled anyway, gently running his hand though Les’ curly hair. The ten year old was still cuddled into his brother’s side.

_____________

A few hours later the three boys were all sitting on the bed, Les sleeping and Davey and Jack talking.

“You scared me Davey.” Jack said with a quiet voice. “I didn’t know if you were going to make it for a minute there.”

Davey smiled at him, gently taking his hand and squeezing it. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, Jack.”

Jack smiled at him, eyes slowly drifting to his lips. He leaned in slowly and kissed him. It was a soft and gentle kiss, one that lasted mere seconds.

“I love you, Davey.”

“I love you too, Jack.”


End file.
